guest post - fiona dempster

Thank you for having me along as a guest blogger… at first I wasn’t so sure
that I fitted in with the whole jewellery focus; but I was convinced by others
that in reality; this was a place as much about sharing passion and creativity
as it was about the final product, so here I am!

My first love was calligraphy but now I call myself a calligraphic artist and
book artist. Mostly because I love books, words, marks and text and my
artistic world has deviated far from writing poems or quotes and getting them
framed to hang on a wall.

I respond to quiet art. I like artwork that doesn’t shout; artwork that is calm
and quietly draws you in and asks you to spend some time with it. My art
encourages the viewer to be intimate with the work and to have a one on one
experience with it; to be drawn into it’s world, often quietly and slowly.

My work explores themes and ideas about peace and meditation, about
reflection and introspection and about journey and place. I use text, words
and images to express sentiments, feelings, thoughts and beliefs. I believe
that in sharing these thoughts and inspirations in a beautiful and creative way
we encourage peace and calm in our every day lives.

A few years ago I made a few pieces of jewellery – in particular these earrings
that are made from heavy paper 9about 500gsm). I wrote words of healing
and belief on the paper, over and over again, then cut them into tiny squares
and stacked them – so the wearer carried the positive thoughts with them
through their treatment.

Whilst my work is often paper-based and takes the form of books; more
recently I have begun working with metal, timber and Perspex to express
words and texts in ways that take calligraphy off the page and into the
outdoors.

I love the intimate and personal nature of the book form. I like that a person
gets to hold the art work in their hands and slowly and gently move through
it, ‘reading’ a story of images or thoughts or ideas.

I also love rust and worn things and the enduring nature of metal books. I like
the message of steadfastness that metal books tell – that they will endure.
I also think the contrary nature of a book (which should be soft and pliable)
made of metal (which is strong and unyielding) is an unexpected and quizzical
experience.

And to finish; some earrings I actually made myself at a recent workshop.
They are quite long (about 7.5 cm x 2 cm wide). The backing plate is a smoky
Perspex and the decorative element is aluminum which I heated, folded and
formed and then burnished by heating olive oil on it – giving it that nice warm
look. I proudly say that I even made the rivets! I love jewellery and the tools
that jewelers have; but in the end I expect the words, the text, the marks and
the books will keep my heart; and I’ll pop over and play with the metal and
Perspex occasionally…

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to learn more about fiona you can visit her in these places...

website: fionadempster.com
blog: paperponderings.blogspot.com